


Best Served Hot

by Barb Cummings (Rahirah)



Series: The Barbverse [67]
Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Food, Schmoop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-12-26
Updated: 2010-12-26
Packaged: 2017-10-14 03:41:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/144948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rahirah/pseuds/Barb%20Cummings
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dawn prefers to call it 'culinary adventure.'</p>
            </blockquote>





	Best Served Hot

**Author's Note:**

> This story takes place in the same universe as "Raising In the Sun," "Necessary Evils," and "A Parliament of Monsters." It contains spoilers for previous stories in the series. This was written for the Schmoop Bingo prompt "Kitchen Disaster." I have occasionally mentioned Dawn's macaroni and marshmallow casserole in other stories, and I felt that the time had come to give it the spotlight it deserves.

"All right, I got everything on the list. Just one question," Charles Gunn asked as he staggered into the kitchen, laden with overstuffed grocery bags. He dumped the bounty of Trader Joe's on the counter, making a last minute grab for an escaping baguette. "I know you want to make a good impression and all, but exactly which army were you planning on feeding?"

The tiny apartment looked like the aftermath of a bad day in Kitchen Stadium. There were spice bottles everywhere, and enough bowls overflowing with enough different kinds of chopped herbs and grated cheeses to choke an entire Food Network's worth of celebrity chefs. His beloved, currently engaged in the vigorous stirring of a saucepan full of lumpy yellowish glop, looked up with a pitying glance. "You've never eaten with my sister before, have you?"

Gunn's eyebrows did that thing they did. He waggled a hand level with Dawn's shoulder. "We talking about the same sister? So high? Hundred and ten pounds soaking wet and wearing concrete overshoes?"

Dawn snorted. "Oh, ho ho. Don't let her 'Oooh, I might crave a low-fat yogurt' line fool you. That whole superpowers thing is like a bottomless calorie pit. One minute it's 'Oh, you go ahead and order, Dawn, I'm not hungry, I'll just snag one of your fries,' and then WHAM! your delicious double cheeseburger and fries with chocolate shake are _gone._ Not that I'm bitter or anything. And _that_ was her ninety-pound self-abnegation period, before Spike corrupted her back to the yummy side of the Force."

"Huh." Gunn took up a perch on the one stool that the kitchen had room for. "I would not have thought."

"Truefax. She makes Fred look picky. And since Spike got all metabolism-enabled he's just as bad. However," Dawn gave her dubious-looking concoction a triumphant stab with a wooden spoon, "I have developed a counter-weapon." She abandoned her pan and began rummaging around in the bags. "Molasses, Bell peppers, Vidalia onions... oh, good, you got the maple smoked bacon. Here, start it frying, and cut the sausages up into little circles. They've got to look like chopped up hot dogs."

Gunn complied. "Do I even wanna ask how all this stuff is supposed to go together?"

Dawn's grin was perhaps a shade on the maniacal side. "This," she said, juggling onions, "is the gourmet version of an old Dawn Summers specialty. Slice those onions up, would you?" She darted back over to the stove, adjusted the heat under her saucepan, and stirred in another cup of cheese. "Macaroni and marshmallow casserole. You start out with the mac n' cheese, mix in the sausages, then top it with caramelized onions and a layer of marshmallows. It's, like, the ultimate food. I figure I'll serve it to them for an appetizer. Take the edge off." She held out her spoon. "Work in progress, but wanna taste?"

He'd always considered himself an adventurous kind of guy, but when it came to food, Dawn Summers rushed in where people who valued their arteries feared to tread. Still, there were times when a man had to do what a man had to do. Steeling himself, Gunn took a bite. Chewed. Swallowed. Gasped, and dove for the refrigerator and the nearest source of cold liquid.

"So?" Dawn asked, as he slugged down half a bottle of beer in record time. "It's got a little kick, right? The trick is to add just enough cayenne so Spike thinks it's spicy, but not so much that the rest of us cauterize our tongues off."

"Dear God in heaven, woman!" Gunn set his beer bottle down with a thump, wiping his brow. Damn, in his cayenne-induced blindness he'd grabbed one of Dawn's lite bottles. Good thing he couldn't actually taste it. "I love you like burning, but I've seen Krevlatch demons that aren't as scary as that stuff!" He paused, a thoughtful frown taking over. "'Sides, I think it needs more paprika."

Dawn broke into a grin and stabbed the air with her spoon. " _Perfect._ "

 **End**

 

 **Dawn's macaroni and marshmallow casserole:**

Caramelized Onion topping:

* 6 slices bacon, chopped  
* 2 sweet onions, cut into thin strips  
* 2 tablespoons molasses  
* 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Place bacon in a heavy skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until crisp. Remove bacon, reserving 1 tablespoon drippings in skillet. Crumble bacon, and set aside. Cook onions in reserved drippings for 15 minutes, or until onion is soft and caramel colored. Stir in molasses and crumbled bacon, and set aside.

 

Three-Cheese Macaroni-Sausage Casserole

* 9 tablespoons butter  
* 1/2 pound elbow macaroni  
* 1 pound pork sausage, sliced into rings  
* 1 cup chopped onions  
* 1/2 cup chopped bell peppers  
* 4-6 cloves minced garlic  
* 1/2 teaspoon anise seeds  
* 1/2 cup all-purpose flour  
* 3 cups heavy cream  
* 1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese  
* 1 cup grated Gruyere cheese  
* 1 cup grated Gouda cheese  
* 2 1/2 tablespoons paprika

* black pepper, cayenne pepper, oregano & thyme to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter a large casserole dish with 1 tablespoon of the butter and set aside.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the macaroni and cook until al dente, about 10 minutes. Drain in a colander and rinse under cold running water. Drain well.

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook the sausage, stirring, until browned and the fat is rendered. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of fat from the pan. Add the onions, bell peppers, and all spices except the garlic and anise, and cook, stirring, over medium-high heat until soft, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and anise seeds, and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Remove from the heat.

Melt the remaining stick of butter in a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour, and stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, cook over medium heat until thick, 3 to 4 minutes, being careful not to let the flour brown. Using a whisk, add the cream in a steady stream and cook, whisking constantly, until thick and smooth, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat. Add 2 cups of the cheese, and stir well. Add the noodles, cooked sausage and chopped vegetables, and stir well to combine. Pour into the prepared baking dish.

In a mixing bowl, combine the remaining 1 cup of cheese with the caramelized onions. Spread over the macaroni and bake until golden brown and bubbly, about 20 minutes. Just before removing the casserole from the oven, top it with a layer of marshmallows. Bake several minutes more, until the marshmallows are golden-brown.

Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes before serving. Serves 6, or one hungry Slayer/vampire couple. Needless to say, eat at your own risk.


End file.
